Radio communication systems of the fourth generation (4G) are designed for best possible support of traffic that is based on the Internet Protocol (IP). For instance, a typical application in 4G systems may be the download of an Internet homepage, represented by a flow of IP packets, onto a hand-held device via the air interface of a cellular system or a Wireless Local Area Network (LAN). Therein, the actual transmission of the IP packets is performed by a transparent or non-transparent radio bearer.
Even though Quality of Service (QoS) negotiation mechanisms have been developed for the IP, the general rule remains that IP QoS is highly volatile and can be different for each flow of IP packets.
Prior art cellular radio systems have been built on the assumption originating from the circuit-switched era, that QoS is managed through negotiation of transmission parameters for the whole chain of participating nodes of the network (for instance, from the hand-held device to the Internet node providing the Internet homepage that is downloaded) prior to the start of the transmission. However, due to the inherent flexibility of IP traffic, radio bearers that are set up based on prior end-to-end negotiation are not as attractive as before, because a large number of these over-the-air pre-negotiations is required then, causing extra signalling traffic and slowing down the start of the actual transmission.